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Tampa Bay Times preseason college football Top 25

 
PASADENA, CA - JANUARY 06:  Florida State Seminoles head coach Jimbo Fisher (R) holds the Coaches' Trophy as quarterback Jameis Winston (L) #5 looks on after defeating the Auburn Tigers 34-31 in the 2014 Vizio BCS National Championship Game at the Rose Bowl on January 6, 2014 in Pasadena, California.  (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
PASADENA, CA - JANUARY 06: Florida State Seminoles head coach Jimbo Fisher (R) holds the Coaches' Trophy as quarterback Jameis Winston (L) #5 looks on after defeating the Auburn Tigers 34-31 in the 2014 Vizio BCS National Championship Game at the Rose Bowl on January 6, 2014 in Pasadena, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
Published Aug. 24, 2014

The Tampa Bay Times preseason top 25 as selected by staff writer Joey Knight, a voter in the Associated Press poll. His AP ballot will be available each week during the season on his blog at tampabay.com/blogs/bulls.

1. Florida State

A summer ago, any reasonable forecaster might have projected 2014 as the year the Seminoles returned to college football's apex. Think about it: Quarterback Jameis Winston would have a year of seasoning, the offensive front would teem with seniors and veteran talent would be visible in nearly every nook of the defense. Well, Winston's staggering rookie season expedited things, and the 'Noles might be even better this year. Their most significant loss: defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruitt (to Georgia).

Key game: Sept. 20 vs. Clemson

2. Oklahoma

Say what you will about OU catching Alabama at the right time in January's Sugar Bowl (a 45-31 Sooners romp). A hungover 'Bama team still is better than most, and OU quarterback Trevor Knight dissected the Tide. Knight returns as does a slew of veterans on defense, including linebacker and Armwood High alumnus Eric Striker (three Sugar Bowl sacks). What's more, the Sooners get Oklahoma State, Baylor and Kansas State at home.

Key game: Nov. 8 vs. Baylor

3. Alabama

In a previous life, Crimson Tide newcomer Jacob Coker seriously challenged Jameis Winston for the quarterback job in Tallahassee. We're high on the 6-foot-5 Coker — among several vying to become A.J. McCarron's heir — and the rest of the offense isn't shabby either (see Yeldon, T.J., at running back). The defense took some hits, but no one in college football replenishes like coach Nick Saban.

Key game: Nov. 29 vs. Auburn

4. UCLA

Our 2014 dark-horse national title contender. The Bruins return 15 starters from a 10-3 team led by quarterback Brett Hundley (3,071 passing, 748 rushing yards in 2013) and two-way force of nature Myles Jack (75 tackles, 267 rushing yards). Additionally, Oregon, Stanford and Southern Cal all must travel to Pasadena. Perhaps fate will lend a hand: This year marks the 60th anniversary of the Bruins' last national title.

Key game: Oct. 11 vs. Oregon

5. Oregon

Junior quarterback Marcus Mariota (4,380 total yards in 2013) returned to Eugene for a final crack at the Heisman Trophy and the Ducks' first national title in football. To achieve those goals, Oregon might have to outscore teams initially. The Ducks lost a half-dozen key figures on defense, including three secondary starters and longtime coordinator Nick Aliotti. But the schedule shapes up well.

Key game: Oct. 11 at UCLA

6. Auburn

To be sure, 2013 was magical on the Plains, and maybe that's the problem: no way such magic (see Georgia and 'Bama wins) can repeat itself, right? Nick Marshall (2,782 total yards) returns at quarterback following a blemished offseason. (A pot possession charge will prevent him from starting the opener against Arkansas.) But he won't have 1,800-yard rusher Tre Mason behind him. Talent and luck are championship prerequisites, but Auburn might have used up all of the latter in 2013.

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Key game: Nov. 29 at Alabama

7. Michigan State

With some replenishing to do on defense, expecting Sparty to win at Oregon in Week 2 is a stretch. But Mark Dantonio's club should be well-oiled when Big Ten play commences a month later. Veteran defensive coordinator Pat Narduzzi will build around menacing end Shilique Calhoun (7½ sacks last season) and Sparty's trademark press coverage. Offensively, quarterback Connor Cook (22 touchdowns, six interceptions) and tailback Jeremy Langford (1,422 yards) are back.

Key game: Nov. 8 vs. Ohio State

8. South Carolina

We put Steve Spurrier's club here with a tad of trepidation. While the Gamecocks have reached a point where they can annually reload, one doesn't just replace a competitor such as quarterback Connor Shaw (27-5 as starter). Shaw's heir, senior Dylan Thompson, has played a lot, but many agree he doesn't possess Shaw's mobility or moxie. Easing the transition is the return of Mike Davis (1,183 rushing yards in 2013) and a veteran line.

Key game: Sept. 13 vs. Georgia

9. Baylor

The reigning Big 12 champ again should possess an offense as sleek and sparkling as its new 45,000-seat stadium. Bryce Petty — a 4,200-yard passer last season — returns to lead a seasoned unit that scored at least 70 points four times in a five-game stretch. Coach Art Briles has holes to fill on defense, but that might not be a glaring concern if the Bears can keep the offensive throttle near 70.

Key game: Nov. 8 at Oklahoma

10. Stanford

In the wake of four consecutive BCS games, Cardinal stock never has been higher. The question: Has it peaked? Coach David Shaw has significant holes to fill on both sides of the line, but he has replenished effectively in the past. Even if the Cardinal can reload, the schedule — including trips to Oregon, Washington, Notre Dame, Arizona State and UCLA — is an absolute bear.

Key game: Sept. 27 at Washington

11. Ohio State

The Buckeyes lost some key components — and maybe a little mojo — from last season, which ended with losses to Michigan State (Big Ten title game) and Clemson (Orange Bowl). And the season-ending shoulder injury to senior quarterback Braxton Miller (3,162 total yards in 2013) is a setback. But coach Urban Meyer remains, arguably, the best recruiter north of Nick Saban. The Buckeyes will be unproven in some areas but talented all over.

Key game: Nov. 8 at Michigan State

12. Georgia

If quarterback Aaron Murray had a sixth season of eligibility, we might peg the Dawgs for the SEC title. As it stands, senior Hutson Mason — a longtime Murray backup — must do enough to keep defenses honest and open a few seams for future NFL tailback Todd Gurley (6 feet 1, 226 pounds). Defensively, new coordinator Jeremy Pruitt, snagged from Florida State in, arguably, college football's best offseason acquisition, has nine returning starters.

Key game: Sept. 13 at South Carolina

13. Southe Southern Cal

Three years after winning the Guy Toph Award as Hills­borough County's top high school player, Berkeley Prep alumnus Nelson Agholor has thrust himself into dark-horse Heisman candidacy. A junior, Agholor (918 receiving yards, six touchdowns in 2013) is the most potent weapon around veteran quarterback Cody Kessler. The question: Can new coach Steve Sarkisian make them all mesh?

Key game: Nov. 22 at UCLA

14. Nebraska

Coach Bo Pelini, who apparently has more lives than the state has cornfields, returns for a seventh season. He likely won't get an eighth with another four-loss season or another recorded rant about his fan base. The Cornhuskers' veteran defense should be much improved, and senior Ameer Abdullah (1,690 yards in 2013) returns to the backfield. But the offensive line must be replenished. A more diplomatic Pelini wouldn't hurt either.

Key game: Oct. 4 at Michigan State

15. Wisconsin

The Badgers must replace six starters on the front seven of their defense. But they still possess the beef (four returning linemen) and backs (1,600-yard rusher Melvin Gordon) to execute their old-school, steak-and-spuds attack. Additionally, the Big Ten's expansion and realignment mean the Badgers avoid Ohio State, Michigan State and Michigan.

Key game: Nov. 15 vs. Nebraska

16. Notre Dame

For now, we're keeping the Irish right here, though four players — three of them starters — recently were dismissed after an internal probe of academic fraud. On the flip side, junior quarterback Everett Golson (2,405 yards in 2012) is back from a one-year academic suspension. Sadly for him, the team's top returning receiver, DaVaris Daniels, was among the dismissed.

Key game: Oct. 18 at Florida State

17. Mississippi

If the Rebels played in any other division in any other league in the country, their postseason potential might transcend the Belk Bowl. Nonetheless, expectations are soaring in Oxford. Bo Wallace (7,085 career total yards) is the SEC's most experienced quarterback, and Hugh Freeze's ballyhooed 2013 signing class is a year older. But the midseason schedule — Alabama, Texas A&M, LSU and Auburn in a span of five weeks — is a brick wall.

Key game: Oct. 25 at LSU

18. LSU

Few can replenish a depth chart as effectively as Les Miles. Other­wise, the Tigers might not have even made our top 25. LSU was ravaged at the offensive skills spots by the NFL (which took seven underclassmen) and graduation, and the schedule includes trips to Auburn, Florida, Texas A&M and Houston (for a neutral-site game against Wisconsin).

Key game: Oct. 4 at Auburn

19. Arizona State

The Sun Devils return several key components, including quarterback Taylor Kelly, from an offense that averaged 39.7 points last season. But if this desert-based scoring engine throws a rod, the Devils' postseason hopes could dry up faster than an apple core on a Tempe sidewalk. Nine defensive starters, including two-time Pac-12 defensive player of the year Will Sutton, are gone.

Key game: Sept. 25 vs. UCLA

20. Clemson

The momentum from the Orange Bowl beatdown of Ohio State might have left for the NFL with quarterback Tajh Boyd and receiver Sammy Watkins. Initially, the defense, led by sack machine Vic Beasley at end, might be ahead of the offense in Death Valley as coach Dabo Swinney inserts new moving parts. The first three games, two of them road trips to Georgia and Florida State, will tell us a lot.

Key game: Sept. 20 at Florida State

21. Cincinnati

Our pick to represent the "Group of Five" conferences in a major bowl (Cotton, Fiesta or Peach). New quarterback Gunner Kiel, once widely deemed the nation's top high school slinger, is surrounded by talented veterans, and a Tommy Tuberville defense will be stout more often than not. We're issuing an upset alert for the Sept. 27 game at Ohio State.

Key game: Sept. 27 at Ohio State

22. Texas

If nothing else, we predict coach Charlie Strong's first Longhorns team won't be as defensively porous as Mack Brown's last. Strong, who owns some of the nation's best defensive chops, has veterans on that side. Additionally, the Longhorns leave the state of Texas only once — for a trip to Kansas — in the first seven weeks. We'd suggest that might extend Strong's honeymoon — if honeymoons existed in Austin.

Key game: Oct. 4 vs. Baylor

23. Kansas State

Coach Bill Snyder, who turns 75 in October, has an equally ageless defensive philosophy: Don't get exotic, just do the few things you do extremely well. Look for the Wildcats to blitz a bit, tackle as well as anyone and ride the arm of returning quarterback Jake Waters (2,469 passing yards, 18 touchdowns in 2013). With a favorable home slate, K-State could challenge for the Big 12 title.

Key game: Sept. 18 vs. Auburn

24. Texas A&M

The nationwide consensus is Johnny Manziel's wizardry over the past two seasons covered up a lot of defensive transgressions. The Aggies defense ranked 110th in Division I-A against the run last year (222.3 yards), which simply won't do now that no Heisman-winning quarterback is there to bail it out. Still, we don't see the Aggies falling off the map. Kevin Sumlin has recruited too well for that.

Key game: Thursday at South Carolina

25. Washington

While he couldn't bring the blue carpet with him from Boise State, new coach Chris Petersen did arrive with an .876 winning percentage (92-13). He inherits a team highly seasoned on both sides of the line but a bit disheveled in the offensive backfield. Projected starting tailback Deontae Cooper has three prior ACL tears.

Key game: Sept. 27 vs. Stanford